Manpower: Q2 US Hiring to Match Q1

March 15, 2005 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The latest
quarterly Manpower Inc. survey showed that the strong hiring
US employers predicted for the January to March period should
continue unabated into the second quarter.

According to a
Manpower news release
,of the 16,000 US employers surveyed, 30%
plan to add staff in the second quarter while 7%
anticipate hiring cutbacks. Fifty-eight percent of the
hiring managers anticipate no change in staff levels for
the coming quarter and 5% are unsure. This marks the
fifth consecutive quarter in which employers have
reported hiring expectations that rival those last seen
in the beginning months of 2001, according to the
staffing agency.

Quarter over quarter hiring plans are
remarkably similar across the 10 industry sectors
surveyed, according to the announcement. The most notable
differences are among Education and Public Administration
employers who anticipate a slightly more active hiring
pace than in the first quarter of 2005. Durable Goods
Manufacturing and Wholesale/Retail Trade employers, on
the other hand, intend to decrease staff levels on a very
small scale from April to June, the announcement
said.

“After three years of volatility in their
job outlook, US employers have shown stability in their
hiring plans for more than a year now,” said Jeffrey
Joerres, chairman & CEO of Manpower Inc, in the news
release. “Companies have seemed to find a rhythm in their
hiring practices. What we are witnessing from US
businesses is that they are very willing to increase
headcount to meet demand for their products and services,
but will only do so if tied to measured demand, as
opposed to an anticipation of demand.”

Little change is in store for second
quarter hiring activity across the four US regions, the
staffing company said. Job seekers are likely to find
that the West offers the most promising job picture for
the April – June period. For the fifth consecutive
quarter, employers in the Northeast intend to bring on
employees at a more conservative pace than the other
regions.

In addition to the United States, the
Manpower Employment Outlook Survey is conducted in 20
other countries and territories, including more than
40,000 employers across the globe. Second quarter
employment prospects are set to improve most notably for
the second quarter in Japan, Germany, Mexico, Norway and
Australia, the survey found.